


Ashes

by ChaoticMind (ChloeCasey)



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Alternate Universe - Apocalypse, Blood and Gore, Futuristic Technology, Heavy Angst, Lots of pain and feels, M/M, Supernatural Elements, contemplating suicide, so much pain
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-06
Updated: 2017-08-06
Packaged: 2018-12-12 01:33:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,355
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11726739
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChloeCasey/pseuds/ChaoticMind
Summary: Bill always assumed the timeline would work out the way he wanted, with no hitches whatsoever. He always thought that fate was on his side, that circumstance would fall in his favor every time.He was wrong, and it ended up ruining everything.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone! Please enjoy this hearty helping of Bill Truama! This is part of an AU I really wanted to collab with someone on, but I could never find any takers, so, I wrote this oneshot to help get all of the images out. 
> 
> Enjoy and comment please!

The first time Bill saw fire, saw billowing clouds of smoke and ashes raining down from the skies in his future, he thought nothing of it. After all, that's what his visions always looked like whenever he sought out a dimension to begrudgingly burn down, so he never thought of these flashes as anything different. He simply shrugged to himself, and kept moving on, kept plucking at Stanford's strings like he was a lifeless puppet, goading him toward his goals.

The second time Bill saw fire in his future, it felt slightly different, slightly...off. The skies were blackened, the barest hints of sunlight still poking through the thick, swirling clouds, to the point where he almost mistook it for night. There was no vortex of colors shifting in and out and blending together, no roars of his monstrous followers marching out to raze the world below, just...darkness. Darkness and ashes. Bill took this more seriously, more carefully, making him pause in his manipulation of his human puppet, turning a keen, watching eye on the future to map out every detail.

The third time, and final time Bill saw fire, he knew that his timeline was doomed. At first, he was beyond shocked, and murderously furious, spending his time wallowing through the jumbled amalgamation a of broken worlds he called his home and screaming into the infinite nothingness as hard as he could. Billions of years patiently waiting, planning, mapping out every detail, even going so far as to contact multiple versions of himself just to make sure what not to do, all of it, eradicated in one singular instance. How could one moment, one microscopic shifting of circumstances, in the fiery depths of a singular water-covered rock in the sheer vastness of the Multiverse, be enough to topple his goals?

How could one fucking volcano ruin everything he had worked so hard for?

Eventually, that rage shifted into something else: panic. There were two reasons Bill tried to jump into as many dimensions as he could, to gain power, and to build his territory up, make it stronger, make it as durable as it could be in its scrambled state. To keep certain beings out and away. The 3rd Dimension was his ticket to true power, true liberation from this constant threat, and the opportunity to shed the Multiverse itself from it's shackles. Now, because of a singular super volcano, all of that was gone. His enemies would find him, trapped, and unable to leave, and he, his legacy, his goals, his rebellion and all of his friends would be swallowed up by the void, forever gone and forever erased. He could not, no, would not let that happen.

The panic then changed into a fierce determination, a will to live that he hasn't felt in eons. After giving the explanation to his friends, to the rest of his world, all of them understood, and all of them agreed. The original plan was gone, and there was nothing they could do, so the only choice to was make it out before the opportunity was cast away forever. Then, trembling with both exhilaration and a chilling fear rattling him to his core, Bill went to negotiate with Stanford Pines.

It took time, time and a lot of convincing, but eventually Bill managed to open up the smallest of gateways to the other side, stable, but not for long. There was no hesitation on any of their part, and all of them pushed through the tear in space/time, spilling out into the underground bunker that made up Ford's home. As Bill was passing through, he felt everything within him shift violently, suddenly, and the last thing he remembered was screaming as everything in his body was consumed by blinding pain.

He had woken slowly, sluggishly, unsure of where he was and what had happened, finding himself being held in Kryptos's arms while the rhombus was shaking, looking as if he was about to cry. It took Bill a moment to get his bearings, feeling more physical and solid then he had felt in a long time, and when everything finally caught up, he had a sudden realization that shook him to his core. He felt...nothing. There were no whispers of trillions of minds echoing through his brain, no subtle hints of the past or future constantly lining the edges of vision, no buzzing or crackling of magical energy coursing through his body, there was nothing. Just the subtle feeling of a heart pumping away and the pull of muscles as he moved.

Gone. It was all gone. His power, his magic, his Infinite Sight, everything was gone. He was nothing but a hollow shell of what he once was, left with nothing but memories, a physical body, and the barest hint of his blue flames. It was the most bittersweet of circumstances Bill could have ever thought of; he and his friends were safe, but without his powers, his link to the Nightmare Realm, there was no chance of them being unscathed in the hellscape that would soon be the Earth. It was more then disheartening, it was downright soul-crushing, and for the first time in Gods knew how long, still laying there in the arms of Kryptos, his nearest and dearest friend, Bill Cipher began to cry.

\--

The explosion came and went suddenly, almost too soon to be predicted by man-made technology. Millions of people died in the blast, the surrounding states effectively being buried under oceans of lava and molten rock. The gallons of ash pouring from the opening spread out through the atmosphere, covering most of the Earth in a blanket of darkness and death. Society began to collapse not soon after, not only from the insanity brought upon by the concept of the ash choking out all life, but also the fact that photosynthesis would be nigh impossible. No photosynthesis, no plant growth. No plant growth, no crops, no food, which ends in starvation and death.

Thankfully, with Gravity Falls being the isolated town that it was, Ford, the rest of the townspeople, and Bill were mostly safe from such instability, instead joining their efforts and working together in order to survive. Dust masks were passed around, goggles made and worn, buildings fortified, and any kind of preservable food item they could get their hands on were collected and stored. The Henchmaniacs got used to being powerless relatively quickly, seeing how most of them, save for Kryptos and Bill himself, had been born in the 3rd Dimension already, and had at least some attribute they could use in order to defend themselves relatively easily should trouble inevitably show up.

Bill on the other hand was not so lucky; not only was he powerless, but, admittedly, he was embarrassingly small compared to the rest of his friends; even Kryptos was bigger then him by a good 4-5 inches. Both of them decided to work together to overcome how admittedly frail they both were, and, with some help from Ford, they came up with some unique alternatives to just fighting close up. Bill came up with the idea to fight using chemical mixtures, using his vast knowledge of scientific equations to build homemade bottle, jar, and even glass bombs that not only exploded violently, but sent up clouds of often acidic or poisonous gases. He even began making special daggers that were coated in deadly venom. Kryptos found that, for some reason, he was really good at sharpshooting, and often practiced firing off sniper rifles while hidden in the trees. In case of any physical altercation, he also carried a small pick axe with him, as well as a meat cleaver.

30 years passed as the whole town tried their best, not only to fight against the elements, but also against any intruders that dared to venture close to their home. Often people were either turned away or shot dead for fear of any robbers or ambushes, and any that were accepted in immediately were stripped of any weapons or supplies, just for the sake of safety. Gravity Falls became known as a last resort, a safe haven regarded not just out of reverence, but also out of fear. They received little word of the outside, but they had enough sense to know that the world had more then likely descended into chaos and anarchy at this point. However, Ford was the only one that ever dared to step outside of the town at any time, keeping a lookout for the only other person at that point that had mattered: his brother.

Bill knew that Stanley was more then likely dead, but for the sake of Ford's health, he kept his mouth shut, merely watching silently every time the man left, always hoping that nothing ever happened, that the last remains of what this timeline could've been was never lost.

One day, Ford left. He never came back.

And then all hell broke loose just days later as a massive, broken, rage-filled wail filled the sky, making the very ground tremble in fear .

Bill should've realized it sooner, should've seen the signs before it was too late. The ash circling the planet, blotting out the sun while absorbing it's heat, which would lead to a rapid increase in the atmosphere's temperature...which would mean the ice caps of the Arctic would melt first. They would melt around 3 million years too early.

Time Baby was free.

Gravity Falls was the first to go under his new rule, the 10 trillion ton infant realizing that the entire area was dripping with magical energy, which was perceived as a massive threat. It was only because of Fiddleford's underground bunker that Bill and the others survived, merely sitting there in the darkness, listening helplessly as screams filled the air, the whole town, the whole forest, the whole landscape being turned to a fiery hell. But even as everything burned away, that damn baby wasn't satisfied; to make a truly scarring impact, he ended up taking the whole of the land, and cracking it into two. With Gravity Falls split down the middle, the magnetic barrier keeping all of the supernatural inside was no more, and soon, monsters began to spread, exploring the ravaged world outside and leaving a deserted wasteland.

In a matter of hours, Bill had lost everything all over again. With one clean sweep of a grubby, Time Giant hand, it was all gone. He was devastated beyond all measure, the only thing still keeping himself going was his friends, was Kryptos, watching over him, keeping him company, and assuring him that things could still change. So, with a heavy heart, Bill waited. Hundreds of years passed, not one of them ever aging, ever stopping, always attacking and killing anything that came near, both for the sake of food, and supplies, which was thankfully plenty considering the status of Gravity Falls had not changed. They began to build up the fortresses all over again, using the scraps and pieces they could fish out of the long settled rubble, trying to make efficient safe havens in case of attacks or harrowing ash storms. It was tiresome, but for the sake of his friends, Bill kept going.

But he still didn't give up sensing for Stanford, even if logic kept screaming at him that he was long dead by this point. Despite being locked away from magic, he could still sense it, still absorb it if he could get his hands on it, and he tried frequently to use this sense to map out Ford. He only felt Time Baby each and every time, surrounding the world, surrounding him, that damn giant working on conquering the world and reshaping it to his liking. It wore down on him like a piece of sandpaper scraping constantly at his mind, his sanity, and more then once he found himself staring for too long at a knife or a gun laying a few feet away, or as he brewed a new chemical concoction, was stuck contemplating what it would be like if he drank the jar of cyanide or arsenic sitting on one of his many shelves.

It was getting to be too much, and Bill knew it, and he tried his damnedest to hide these feelings from the others, not wanting to condemn them even more then he already had. That was the most crushing part; it seemed no matter what he did, he would always drag the ones he loved into hell itself without even realizing it. He had no idea of what the future would be, and had no way to know at all, so that means he could have very well doomed them all to die, cold and alone.

What if his friends were wrong? What if nothing would change? What if he was to remain here, stuck forever in this ruined, darkness filled timeline, doomed to wallow away in a broken shell of what was once his only hope of salvation and happiness?

What if ending it was the only way to be free?

That was the thought that was swimming through Bill's head as he slowly walked toward the entrance of their fortress, eye flicking around as he dimly watched his friends move about. He normally would've felt his resolve harden, his will to keep on going flaring up like an ember landing on a dry log. But now, it was nothing more then a phoenix crumbling into ashes. It was the most hollow thing he ever felt, and if the decision was made, he wouldn't have to feel it for very long. As he came to a stop in front of the massive double doors that made up the entrance, Bill let out a soft sigh before resting a hand on the cold, rusted, and dented metal, and let his eye close. One more sensing, and then...He would think about ending it.

He felt nothing at first, then slowly began to detect the same overall aura of Time Baby, which was large beyond belief, imposing, and held trace hints of Cosmic Sand. Nothing new there. He furrowed his brow as he concentrated further, pushing his senses out further, trying to soak up every minuscule inch of the land around him. But he still felt nothing. Just Time Baby, everywhere and anywhere. Feeling his heart, slow in its beat as if sympathizing with his slowly dying will, grow numb and heavy with dim acceptance, that nothing would ever change, Bill's fists clenched as he began to pull away.

Then, he felt a spark. The faintest hint of another aura, almost completely drowned out by Time Baby's. It was small, it was weak, but it was THERE. Feeling his body suddenly explode with adrenaline and frantic hope, Bill's eye snapped open as he grabbed onto the double doors, frantically yanking at them with all of his might, heart pounding so hard it feels like it might pop out of his body. He manages to slip it open just enough for him to get through, and now he was running, running as fast and as hard as he could, ignoring the shocked, confused, and frantic screaming of his friends as they scramble to follow. He leapt over rocks, dashed under tree branches, eye glowing a harsh blue as he fought to keep his senses stretched outward, seeking that spark like a shark seeks blood.

Finally, Bill reached his goal, and he sprung out of the trees and into a large, dead clearing, his friends not too far behind. The clearing beheld a horrifying sight; around 7 bodies were strewn all over the place, obviously dead with large gashes in their throats or stomachs, or bullet holes in their heads. Some wore the garbs of raiders, decked out in armor and weapons, around 5 of them in all, while two of them were obviously dressed as wanderers, with thick robes and backpacks. Bill's brow furrowed as he surveyed the scene, wondering where the spark had come from if all of the humans were dead.

And then he saw it. A small boy, propped up under a tree, still conscious and wounded. One hand was clasped weakly over a growing red spot just above his waist, and the left side of his face, around his eye, was matted and red with blood. The boy's breathing was shaky, fast, and sounding panicked, and his one remaining eye was staring wide right at Bill. His other hand was holding out a gun, trembling, but ready to shoot. But yet Bill had no fear; in fact, he felt elated, to the point where he couldn't help but break down laughing, tears rolling down his bricks, shaking with unadulterated joy.

Because in the center of the boy's head was a birthmark.


	2. The Boy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've decided to make this into a full fanfiction! Sorry if this chapter is a bit...clunky near the end. We're writing this chapter by chapter and we're not sure where the story is going to go.

Bill laughed. He laughed and laughed and laughed, to the point where Ronnie was holding him in her arms, looking terrified, fearing that her best friend had gone mad. It took around several minutes for Bill to finally recover, laughing finally receding as he realized one thing.

Pine Tree had stopped moving.

Eye widening with alarm, he batted away the elemental's fiery claws, running over to the child despite the danger of the gun, ignoring the pool of blood he stepped into in favor of feeling for a pulse. "Come on, kid..Come on, kid.."

At first he felt nothing, just the clamminess of the pale body, but then the boy shifted a leg, and the softest of breaths whistled its way out of his chest. It was only a moment later that he noticed the faintest of beats against his finger. "Is he dead?" Kryptos moved forward, hesitating at the bloody pool's edge. One of his hands were half raised as if to help in one way or another. The others kept glancing around them, expecting raiders or something similar to pop out of the shrubbery.

Bill sighs in relief after a moment, pulling his hand back, straightening up from his crouched position. "No, he's just unconscious..." Glancing around, he spotted the two non-raider corpses, and slowly walked over to them, his eye reflecting an unreadable expression. Now that he was closer, he could at least somewhat identify the victims of the ambush; a man and a woman, looking to be somewhere in their 40's, faces frozen with death.

Sighing, Bill turned back to face the others, suddenly regaining an authoritative aura he hadn't felt in centuries. "Paci, Keyhole, take the raiders back to the camp and loot them of supplies, then flay them so the meat isn't wasted. Kryptos, Ronnie, take the kid back to the camp, patch up his wounds and feed him when he wakes up. He is top priority right now and he is not to be harmed. Hector, 8, help me loot these two and bury the bodies." He gestures to the dead couple. He then glances back at the group. "AS, Xanthar, you're on guard duty today. You know the rules."

There's a moment of silence, then mostly everyone nods and goes about to carry the orders. 8-Ball and Hectorgon step up to Bill, the prior raising a brow. "We're not gonna take their meat?" Hectorgon elbows him. "Of course not, they're probably the kid's parents. What did you see in that child, though?" He kneels and pulls the man half upright, tugging the robe and shirt from his body.

"Did you guys not see the birthmark? It was plain as day on his forehead!" Bill was starting to dig through the bag the woman carried, pulling out cans of food or medical supplies. He hums upon pulling out what looks like a scroll, with what seemed to be a compass wrapped around it. "Interesting..."

"I was a bit more preoccupied with all the blood covering him." 8-Ball scrounges around them until he finds some kind of curled wood he could use as a makeshift shovel. "He did have a gun, though. Hard to come by a working one this far out."

"Exactly; what kind of child would be able to survive for so long out here? Especially when he's headed toward THIS location? One surrounded by monsters and bandits?" Bill rips the bag off of the woman's corpse, starting to strip her of clothes as well. "That kid is a Pines, I know it."

"A Pines?" Both of them look up from their activities, trade a glance, and then continue moving. "How are you sure?"

Bill stills for just a moment, and he was thankful that his back was turned to them because a rather intense frown flashed across his eye. He then turns back around, melding his eye into an excited grin. "I sensed him when looking around for Sixer; only a Pines is that influenced by magic! And ever since the barrier went down, magic has been popping up everywhere!"

They nod, seemingly satisfied. "Suppose that makes sense. Think that's how he's still kicking? He bled a lot, but he could still point a gun and everything."

"He did pass out."

"Yeah, but he's not dead. I've never seen anyone live losing that much blood." 8-Ball points back to the tree the kid had huddled under, emphasizing the area of the puddle of blood.

Bill hums as he starts folding the clothes they ripped off the bodies, idly wondering if he could give it to Kryptos so he could make more ponchos and blankets; the rhombus was surprisingly good at sewing and knitting. "That could be it; remember that time Sixer got stabbed in the gut?"

Hectorgon snickers at the memory. "Yeah, and he still kicked everyone's ass. You were so freaked out."

Bill blinks, then huffs, folding his arms as he glares at the mustached prism with a look of slight annoyance. "Of course I freaked out; I look over at him while wrapped up in a net and all I see is him spitting out blood!" He then turns back to the corpses, examining their bloody bodies for a few moments. He then raises a brow, looking perplexed.

"...What's weird is that these two seemed to be dead on arrival...If they are the kid's parents, shouldn't they be Pines's too?" He leans closer, trying to identify the exact wounds.

"Doesn't magic skips a generation?"

"No, Ford said that was the twin thing. And only one would be related, right? Maybe they got a fatal blow."

"Eh, I dunno if that happens to a Pines." The two continue to bicker as the graves are dug and loot collected.

Bill merely listens to their back and forth, still pondering over the deaths of the parents. He scanned then over, spotting a nasty looking gash in the woman's stomach, followed by a bullet hole in her chest. When it came to the man, it looked as if his head was cracked open, then his throat was slit. Judging by how the kid was still alive, they must've died before he sustained any damage, and by how fresh the wounds and blood are, it must've happened only a few minutes ago. Why would the parents be killed immediately but not the child? It made no sense...

A soft breeze of hot air blew through the clearing, momentarily disrupting his pondering as he quickly yanked a goggle over his eye. "We should move back soon. Ash storm coming in."

"The hole's dug." The three of them lug the bodies to the grave, laying them down and packing the dirt into the remaining space. Hopefully it was enough to dissuade animals from digging them back up.

Bill surveyed the area one last time, just to make sure there was nothing else. Sighing after a moment, he turns to face Hectorgon and 8-Ball, arms folded. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah, let's get going." 8-Ball takes the bag of looted goods and slings it over his shoulder. They hurry in the direction of their base as the winds begins to pick up.

\--

"Are you sure he's not dead?"

"He's breathing, Ronnie."

"But that was a lot of blood."

"I know, you don't have to remind me."

There was an excited gasp. "What if he's undead? A zombie?"

"Zombies don't sleep."

"Not yet."

"Just shut up and tell me when the kid is awake, ok? I'm making this stew and I don't want it to boil over."

"Yeah, sure, sure. Nerd."

"Guh, just don't eat him, okay?

"Okay." What could pass as a door closes, leaving the room in a silence only disturbed by weak , haggard breaths. The boy rested in one of the more comfortable cots, a blanket resting over him. It could almost be mistaken that he was sleeping, not passed out or near death.

Pyronica was sitting in front of him a few inches away, cross-legged while she propped her elbows up on a crate she had dragged over, which was shaking and rattling, resting her head in her hands in an almost bored fashion. She was watching the child intently, eyeing over every breath to make sure it didn't suddenly stop. The kid certainly looked worse for wear, and it took a combined effort of her pyrokinetics and Kryptos's medical supplies to finally stop the bleeding. It was a miracle that he was alive at all. Or maybe he actually did die and was about to try and jump for her skull to eat her brains. Or maybe he's some weird sentient corpse? Ooh, that would be cool.

Snickering slightly to herself, Ronnie sat back ever so slightly, just in case he was the flesh-eating kind of zombie, still looking over his frail body. He looked adorable despite being naked and covered in medical gauze bandages, almost cute enough to-!

She quickly clamped her mouth shut, which was slowly opening in an instinctive urge to devour the boy, growling to herself in frustration. Dammit, stop thinking about the cuteness! She sighs to herself, opening the crate she was leaning against and pulled out what looked to be a live two-headed serpent. It hissed and thrashed in her claws, bioluminescent stripes flashing in a sign of terror, to which Ronnie promptly clamped down on one head with her teeth. Starting to munch bitterly on the scaly snack, blood running down her lips, she never noticed the boy begin to twitch.

The fingers on his left hand tense, sliding just an inch down the thin blanket covering him. His lips part in a softer, slightly more steady whisper of breath as his brow furrows and eyelids twitch. It's when his chest expands further, air hissing between clenched teeth, that Pyronica returns her gaze to the wounded human. One of his legs jerk to the side, a hand blindly searching along his injured side. "Heffv... Whhvv mngm.." His hand hovers of the wound and he slowly starts to crack his eyes open.

Blinking for a moment, Ronnie then grins and laughs, snapping her jaws down on the rest of the snake and swallowing it whole. She then leans closer to the kid, her ears perked up curiously. "Hey there, little guy! Glad to see you aren't dead! You're not dead, right? Not like, you know, undead? Nothing against zombies or anything, just don't want them eating my brains."

He grumbles incoherently, frowning at the sudden noise surrounding him. With a sort of huff, he lets his hand settle on his stomach and turns his efforts toward turning his head and opening his eyes. "...Whazat 'boud huh mnn?" He finally unglues his eyelids, taking in a blurry, pink form hovering over him. Hm. Did he oversleep again? Or maybe he passed out from lack of sleep? Wouldn't be the first time. His hand left his side as his mind forgot the aches of his body, and his eyes slid shut again. "Jus' a... bi' longer."

Ronnie couldn't help but snicker in amusement at how bad the kid was slurring, reaching out and patting his cheek fondly, careful to avoid cutting him with her claws. "Aww, you sound like Bill when he had too much to drink! Wubba Lubba Dub Dub!" She laughs again at her own little joke, but then blinks when she saw his eyes start to droop. She frowns, humming to herself in thought, not sure how to keep the kid awake. After a few moments, she just started poking him repeatedly in the cheek. "Does this annoy you? Does this annoy you?"

"Ugk - gods - Mmay - gehhh." His hand weakly defends against the onslaught, eyes fluttering open. "Whadde you wan'?"

Pyronica let out a giggle as she leaned back slightly, resting her hand on her chin, the other hand curled over the rim of the crate. "I want you to stay awake, kiddo! Can't have you dying on me!"

"Hnn?" He frowns again, then slowly brings a hand up and rubs his eyes. Blinking, his vision focuses on the bright shape, this time outlining the horns, singular eye, and - what? Were those flames? He barely even registers the sudden tenseness of his body, but it's obvious in the way his movements still and his breathing shallows.

Ronnie's grin drops immediately, recognizing the signs of a panic attack. She slowly stands and backs away, hands up and open, displaying no weapon. "Hey, hey, calm down...It's ok, buddy...I'm safe. I'm not gonna hurt you."

"Where am - oh god-" A look of sudden realization hits him and he's instantly sitting upright. "I have to - shit, shit..." He holds his side, the pain slowing him down even as blood rushes away from his head in a dizzying swirl. He leans to the side.

Ronnie inhales sharply, momentarily taking a step forward out of panic. "Hey! Take it easy, you don't want to rip the stitches!"

He just barely catches himself, arms trembling as he tries to slowly lower himself. His teeth bite into his lip. His entire face burns and he blinks rapidly and breathes through his nose. Ever so slowly, he relaxes.

The elemental finally sighs in relief, relaxing in her posture. "Ok..Listen, I'm not gonna hurt you, ok? Can I come closer and check to make sure you didn't rip the stitches?"

He swallows roughly, then nods. "Where...Where am I?"

"You're in Gravity Falls, kid. Or at least what remains of it." Pyronica walks closer, bending down to tug at the blanket and reveal the stitching across his stomach.

He follows the movement with his eyes, flushing slightly as he realizes he isn't wearing any clothes, but gapes when he sees the stitching. Running diagonally from under his right set of ribs down to his left hip bone, a masterpiece of taut, even stitching held his abdomen together. Luckily, his sudden movements didn't tear the wound open. He gingerly ghosts a finger over the gash. "How... How am I still alive?"

She smiles in relief when she sees no visible tearing, sitting back on the crate, which creaks ominously. "Heh..I honestly don't know, kid. We found you near death just outside our little home base."

He shifts his legs just a bit, looking away with furrowed brows. "I..." He bites his lip again, then sighs. "There were others, right? I could have sworn I saw others. A triangle? With an eye?"

"Yeah, that was Bill. He's kind of the Boss of the group." She chuckles, grinning softly.

He stares, blinking dumbly before letting his head fall back and a laugh bark free from behind his lips. Then he continues laughing and brings a shaky hand up to his face. His throat closes up and he almost gags, coughing until he can giggle again, the entire time covering his face and wincing as his insides flinch.

Pyronica blinks at him for a few seconds, before she cracks an amused grin. "Aw, I see. You think it's funny cuz he's all tiny and cute and yellow, eh?"

He rubs his face and can't stop laughing. "No, it's - hahah! - kch... Heheh. Wow. They always - hah! - always s-said we'd - make it." He takes a shuddering breath, chuckling weakly.

Her grin fades rapidly, and she blinks, lips turning down in a confused frown. "...Huh?"

He shakes his head, rubbing his eyes dry. "N-nothing. I don't think... I'm not thinking straight." He exhales and shakes his head again.

She suddenly huffs, folding her arms while her ears flutter, looking quite irritated. She opens her mouth to speak, only for the door to slam open behind her, revealing a wide-eyed Kryptos,wearing a dirty brown poncho, and holding a wooden spoon, which was dripping with some liquid. He stares, blinking, before growling and glaring at Pyronica. "God dammit, Ronnie! I told you to come get me when he woke up!"

The elemental blinks, then glares back, standing up from the crate. "I had to make sure his stitchings didn't rip! Excuse me for not zipping out the door when he was freaking out because of a panic attack!"

The rhombus sighs, pinching his eyelids in exasperation. "Whatever, just...go and get him a bowl of stew, ok? He's probably hungry."

The boy watches the exchange silently, hands gripping his blanket and eyes darting between the two individuals. This new one was similar to the triangle, to Bill. He wondered what he meant by stew.

Pyronica sighs, rolling her eye before standing up from her crate and walking out of the room, playfully patting Kryptos on the upper angle before disappearing from view. The rhombus sighs, before looking over at Dipper and approaching quietly, looking a lot more meek then he did a few seconds ago. "Heh...Hope Pyronica didn't bother you. She tends to get...excited when meeting new people." His eye looks over the boy's body, to examine the wounds, before he turns and walks over to a shelf, opening a box and rifling through it. "I'm Kryptos, by the way."

"I'm, um, Dipper. Pines. Dipper Pines." His hands fidgeted with his blanket, the only thing exposing his nerves.

The rhombus suddenly freezes in place, turning sharply to face the boy, eye wide. "Pines? D-Did you say Pines?"

He inhales, holds it, then puffs it out. "Yeah. Pines. That's my family name."

Kryptos stares for a moment, before grinning, chuckling softly as he pulls another poncho, this one with intricate blue and green swirls, out of the box. He walks over to the boy, handing it to him. "Wow, no wonder you survived with those wounds."

He accepts the clothing, but merely holds it for the time being. "What do you mean?"

Kryptos takes a few steps back, adjusting his own poncho, before noting it's dirtiness. He hums and slides it off, revealing an angular body and a wide mouth taking up a good part of his frame. He tosses the dirty poncho off to the side and takes out another, this one gold and black, with a few eyes laced between the brick-like stripes. He slides it on, smiling. "Well, you Pines are real good with magic. One of the only human families who actually have a gene directly linked to it. It..kind of gives you a step-up from regular human limits. And, if you have enough magical prowess, you can wield it as a weapon."

Dipper blinks, then tilts his head. "Magic is real, then. It's not just the monsters and inhumans." He averts his gaze. "I dunno about my family having magic, though. I mean, I've heard of Bill before, and I've heard tons of stories, but, well, nothing happened with us involving magic for decades."

Kryptos blinks, frowning as he glances at Dipper. "Wait, you know Bill? How? We only recall stories being made of Gravity Falls, not Bill."

"Erm." He splays his hands out and shrugs, feeling oddly relaxed about all of this. "They're family stories. My great-great-great-great-great-great-uncle used to live in Gravity Falls, or something similar. He wrote some of his experiences down in a book, which was passed through the family. We're not supposed to tell anyone, but...." He looks away again. "...Everyone else is dead."

Kryptos blinks, before sighing. "I see...Well, it was good to know Ford made a legacy for himself."

"Heh. Legacy would be cutting it short." He starts stressing at the blanket again. "A lot of people didn't think this place existed, despite the evidence. If I could, I would show you what I meant, but as I am, I can't."

The rhombus stares for a few moments, looking slightly perplexed. Up above, there was the sound of a large door closing and sealing shut, and Kryptos grins in relief. "Good. They made it back before the storm."

"Who?" He holds back a yawn.

"Bill and the others. They, uh...They went ahead and buried your...parents, I'm assuming." Kryptos's grin fades, now looking much more melancholy.

"Oh, um." He averts his eyes again. "Better than leaving them out in the open."

"Yeah...Do you want me to go and get him?" The rhombus looks at him expectantly.

"Um. Sure. Might as well, I guess." He offers a small grin, almost painful in appearance.

Kryptos just nods and leaves the room, leaving everything rather silent. After a few moments, there was the sound of someone descending a set of stairs. A pleasant smell filled the air, most likely the stew Kryptos mentioned earlier. Soon, Bill himself walks in, holding two bowls in each hand. He smirks at the kid, chuckling. "Welcome back from the dead, kiddo."

Dipper chuckles. "Thanks, I guess." His stomach growls loudly. "Bill, right?"

"That's right. Dipper, isn't it?" He sets the first bowl down on the crate, which already had a spoon in it. Bill himself sits on the ground, eye shifting into a mouth as he sips from his own bowl.

"Yeah." He slowly, carefully pulls himself upright, this time not feeling as much nausea or pain. After a few breaths, he swivels to face the crate and picks up the bowl.

"Heh...You went through hell to get here, huh?" Bill smirks, before raising his bowl. "Well, welcome to Gravity Falls. Hope you enjoy your stay."


End file.
